Migrants living in Greece who want to renew or obtain a residence or work permit have until the end of February to submit their application forms, the Interior Ministry said yesterday. The initial deadline for the submission of applications had been the end of this year. Migrants will need to take a passport with a stamp proving they entered the country before December 31, 2004. They will also be required to provide proof that they have been given a tax registration number and that they have social security credits.

The health directorate of the Athens Prefecture yesterday informed the parents of 29 students at a high school in Haidari, western Athens, that appointments had been made for their children to undergo medical tests. The decision came after a parent complained that the students’ biology teacher had used the same needle to prick each child’s finger for a class experiment. Officials said the needle had not been sterilized and there was a risk of bacteria being transferred between students.

A 40-year-old Armenian national was arrested yesterday in connection with a hit-and-run incident which left a female pedestrian dead on Monday on Patission Avenue, central Athens. Police tracked the man down after being given a description of his vehicle by witnesses. He had reported to police that his car was stolen in an attempt to avoid suspicion but later confessed to being involved in the accident that killed the 62-year-old Filipino woman.

Thirty-two passengers on board a British Airways (BA) flight that was forced to return to Thessaloniki on Monday due to problems with its electrical system got to London yesterday morning aboard another flight with the British airliner. BA Flight 2643 traveling to London had been flying over the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) when it was forced to turn back with 95 passengers on board. The remaining 63 passengers were scheduled to fly to London yesterday evening.

Two armed men held up a branch of Emporiki Bank in Thessaloniki yesterday making away with 39,200 euros, police said. The two men entered the bank at 9.50 a.m. pretending to be customers but then pulled out their weapons and threatened staff and customers at the bank.

Greece’s media watchdog has refused to allow the free broadcasting of an Amnesty International spoof poking fun at the war on terrorism, an AI spokesman said yesterday. Planned for release during the festive season, an advertising spot announces the arrest of Father Christmas and the three Magi, classifying the latter as “men of Arab origin transporting chemical substances of unknown nature.” Noting that the four “suspects” were then transported to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, AI called for the fair treatment of terrorism suspects. (AFP)

Police said yesterday that they had arrested a nightclub manager in Thessaloniki after he allowed about 200 underage patrons to enter the night spot and consume alcoholic drinks. After checking to confirm that a school party was not being held, police arrested the 46-year-old manager.

Unleaded petrol cost motorists an average of 0.91 euros per liter on Thursday, according to the Development Ministry, which said yesterday that its price had remained steady since the previous week. The ministry added that unleaded petrol had risen 24.5 percent from the start of the year.

Guards on the Greek-Albanian border arrested six Albanian nationals after catching them on a remote mountain path near the village of Delvinaki carrying some 128 kilos of cannabis, authorities said yesterday. The men were carrying five bags with 120 packages of the drug inside.